• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2020

In this paper, the design of piezoelectric Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducer (pMUT) for wideband ultrasonic radiation in air was investigated. One of the methods to achieve wide frequency bandwidth in single device is modeling the transducer to multi-resonance system. The new pMUT was designed as a multi-resonance system with the addition of a suitable acoustic structure to the front and back of a thin film structure. A new pMUT consisting of thin film parts, radiation parts, and packaging parts is designed with a Lumped Parameter Model (L.P.M). Finally, it was validated as a Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation. The final designed pMUT achieved a frequency band of 102 kHz ~ 132 kHz (-3 dB).

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2013

In this paper, we designed a wideband Tonpilz transducer, and verified the validity of the design through experiments. The wide frequency bandwidth was achieved by coupling the fundamental longitudinal mode of the transducer with a flapping mode of the head mass. Structure of the Tonpilz transducer was optimized by means of the finite element method and genetic algorithm to achieve the widest fractional bandwidth under design constraints. The optimized structure showed a far wider -6 dB fractional bandwidth of transmitting responses than that of single mode transducers. For verification of the design result, we manufactured a transducer prototype of the designed structure and characterized its performance, which showed good agreement with the design results.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2021

The cymbal transducer is a miniaturized version of the Class V flextensional transducer. It has low resonant frequency and high output pressure characteristics compared with its size. However, since it has high quality factor and low energy conversion efficiency as well, it is often used as an array rather than single. When used as an array, a big change in the frequency characteristics occurs in comparison with that of the single transducer due to the interaction between constituent transducers. In this study, we designed a pattern of cymbal array with a view to having broadband characteristics. Three transducers having different center frequencies were designed first. The designed cymbal transducers were used to construct all possible patterns of a 3 × 3 planar array. After analyzing frequency characteristics of these patterns, based on the results, we derived the most effective pattern to achieve a higher fractional bandwidth. The derived array pattern showed an improvement of the fractional bandwidth by 24.9 % in comparison with the reference model.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.170-178
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• 2020

Cymbal transducers are often used as an array rather than single because they have a high quality factor and low energy conversion efficiency. When used as an array, there occurs a big change in the frequency characteristics of the array due to the interaction between constituent transducers. In this study, we designed the structure of a cymbal transducer array to have ultra-wideband characteristics using this property. First, cymbal transducers with specific center frequencies were designed. Then, a 2×2 planar array was constructed with the designed transducers, where the cymbal transducers were arranged to have same or opposite polarization directions. For this structure, we analyzed the effect of the difference in the center frequency of and the spacing between the constituent transducers on the acoustical characteristics of the array. Based on the analysis, we designed the structure of the cymbal transducer array to have the widest possible bandwidth.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2014

In this work, we present an underwater acoustic transducer with a cavity-type head mass to achieve a wide frequency bandwidth. We analyzed the effects of design variables on the transducer characteristics, and optimized the structure of the Tonpilz transducer based on the analysis results. Further, validity of the design was verified by manufacturing a prototype of the transducer and measuring its properties. The designed transducer had a far wider -6 dB fractional bandwidth which is 131 % than that of a single mode transducer, and the measured results were confirmed to be in good agreement with the analysis results.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.56-62
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• 1998

전기-기계변환효율이 좋은 PZT를 송신용으로, 대역특성이 우수한 PVDF를 수신용 으로한 PZT/PVDF 복합구조 수중초음파 트랜스듀서를 제안하고, 외부는 PZT, 내부는 PVDF로 된 동심원형의 트랜스듀서를 설계·제작하여, 그 특성을 이론적, 실험적으로 파악 하였다. 삽입손실과 임펄스 응답파형에 대한 등가회로해석 및 측정결과로부터 제안한 트랜 스듀서의 특성, 특히, 대역폭이 종래의 PZT 단일소자에 의한 트랜스듀서보다 향상될 수 있 음을 알았다.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.585-596
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• 2012

PVDF(poly vinylidene fluoride) and P(VDF-TrFE)(poly vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene) are the typical piezoelectric polymers with unique properties. Even they are inferior to conventional piezoelectric ceramics PZT in electromechanical conversion efficiency and interior loss, though they are superior in receiving sensitivity and frequency bandwidth. Their acoustic impedances are relatively close to water or biological tissue and it is easier to make thin film than other piezoelectric materials. Futhermore, the film is so flexible that it is easy to attach on a complex surface. Those properties are suitable for the ultrasound transducers which are useful for medical and biological application, so that various types of polymer transducers have been developed. In this paper, several important considerations for design and fabrication of piezoelectric polymer transducers were described and their effect on the transducer performance were demonstrated through the KLM model analysis. Then, it was briefly reviewed about the structures of the polymer transducers developed for obtaining images as well as the characteristics of the images in several important medical and biological application fields.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.278-286
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• 2022

In this study, a 33-mode Free-Flooded Ring (FFR) transducer was designed to apply piezoelectric single crystal PIN-PMN-PT, which has high piezoelectric constants and electromechanical coupling coefficient. To ensure low-frequency high transmitting sensitivity characteristics with a small size of FFR transducer, the commercial FFR transducer based on piezoelectric ceramics was compared. To develop the FFR transducer with broadband characteristics, a piezoelectric segmented ring structure inserted with inactive elements was applied. The oil-filled structure was applied to minimize the change of acoustic characteristics of the ring transducer. It was verified that the transmitting voltage response, underwater impedance, and beam pattern matched the finite element numerical simulation results well through an acoustic test. The difference in the transmitting voltage response between the measured and the simulated results is about 1.3 dB in cavity mode and about 0.3 dB in radial mode. The fabricated FFR transducer had a higher transmitting voltage response compared to the commercial transducer, but the diameter was reduced by about 17 %. From this study, it was confirmed that the feasibility of a single crystal-applied FFR transducer with compact size and high-power characteristics. The effectiveness of the performance prediction by simulation was also confirmed.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.184-192
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• 2019

Compared to 31-mode rings, 33-mode rings are highly utilized as wide bandwidth underwater acoustic transducers because the electro-mechanical coupling and piezoelectric constant d are high. On the other hand, the 31-mode ring is an axial symmetry structure, so it is possible to model it as a simple two-dimensional asymmetrical model for numerical analysis, but the 33-mode ring requires a three-dimensional numerical analysis. That is, a lot of computing resources and computation time are required. In this study, the effective material properties of an equivalent 31-mode ring were derived to simulate the electro-mechano-acoustical responses of the 33-mode ring transducer. Using the effective material properties derived from this study, a numerical analysis of rings in vacuum, air backed rings in water, and FFR (Free Flooded Ring) transducers were performed to compare the responses of 33-mode rings.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.368-376
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• 2011

Piezoelectric composites have been widely used in broadband acoustic transducers because of their lower acoustic impedance and higher electro-mechanical coupling factor. However, their complex structure has placed many limitations on the design of various transducers. This paper suggests the methodology to substitute the 1-3 piezocomposites by a single-phased material that has properties equivalent to those of the piezocomposites. The resonant method and finite element analysis (FEA) are used to derive the equivalent properties that can accurately depict resonant properties at various vibration modes of the piezocomposites. Validity of the suggested method is confirmed by comparing frequency characteristics of fabricated 1-3 piezocomposite specimens and FEA models. Further, accuracy of the derived material constants is checked by applying the equivalent properties to FEA models of the single phase material for various resonant modes.